Actor Max McLean to bring the words of C.S. Lewis to life this weekend in Columbus

More than 60 years after his death, British writer C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) endures for the words he committed to paper.

Generations of children have been enchanted by his “Chronicles of Narnia” books, which have been the subject of multiple film adaptations (including new versions, set to be directed by Greta Gerwig, for Netflix).

Adults have been beguiled by Lewis’ adult fiction, including a set of science-fiction novels known as “The Space Trilogy,” and edified by his influential books of Christian apologetics, including the books “Mere Christianity,” “The Problem of Pain” and “The Screwtape Letters” (the last of which centers on a demon named Screwtape).

Perhaps less well-known today is Lewis’ reputation as a public speaker. In person and through the radio, Lewis reached wide audiences with his discussions of Christianity, including his own conversion to it.

Following in those footsteps is actor-writer Max McLean, who has come to specialize in performing as Lewis — and speaking the author’s words — in a series of theatrical productions, including the biographical portrait “The Most Reluctant Convert” (turned into a movie, also starring McLean as Lewis, in 2021).

McLean will perform his latest such work, “C.S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up and Further In,” on Feb. 3 in the Southern Theatre. The play is a production of McLean’s company Fellowship for Performing Arts, which produces and presents theatrical works and films on Christian themes.

The Dispatch recently spoke with McLean, a 70-year-old resident of Los Angeles, about the show and its subject’s legacy.

Question: How did your journey with C.S. Lewis begin?

Max McLean: My first exposure to Lewis was probably in my early 20s. I had recently converted to Christianity, and people said, “Oh, you would really like C.S. Lewis.” I don’t think he was particularly well-known. This would have been the mid-'70s. But certainly his star was ascending. I read him and was really impressed. I don’t think I started taking a deep dive into Lewis until about 20 years ago, when a theater professor at Drew University in New Jersey saw some of our (Fellowship for Performing Arts) work and he suggested that I would make a really good Screwtape. I didn’t know if that was a compliment or not!

We did ultimately get the rights (to “The Screwtape Letters”), and as a result of that, we built a very good relationship with the C.S. Lewis estate. We have been really just delving into his work. I tell people that you just don’t get to the bottom of Lewis. Even though my intent was just to do that play and move on, I said, “No, there’s other stuff I’d like to do.”

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Q: When did you first play Lewis himself?

McLean: I started looking at his memoir, “Surprised by Joy,” very closely. In fact, I got so intrigued by it that I actually transcribed it so that I could really understand his syntax, why he makes choices to go this way as opposed to that in telling his story, and that led to “The Most Reluctant Convert” play.

To play the role, I’ve studied him. I don’t really try to mimic his accent. You can hear his voice; he sounds like Alfred Hitchcock to me. He has a drawl to his voice. What I’m trying to do is get a 21st-century dynamic equivalent for the stage, not necessarily to try to mimic how he spoke. He was the most popular lecturer in Oxford and Cambridge in his day. People just flocked to his lectures. He was a huge personality and dynamic speaker.

Q: “The Most Reluctant Convert” was about Lewis’ conversion to Christianity. What aspects of his life are dealt with in “Further Up and Further In”?

McLean: The big idea of “Further Up and Further In” is a lot of people have conversion stories, but they don’t become C.S. Lewis! What was unique about Lewis’ experience that made him, in his time, probably the most influential writer of Christianity in the 20th century? What were those touchpoints, and what was the energy going on in his mind that you get nowhere else?

(In “Further Up and Further In”), We use a lot of stagecraft. We really want this to be a theatrical experience. In many ways, it is a theatrical religious experience. We want to pull back some of the barriers in theater to religious experience. It’s just not an area that theater is very comfortable with; it used to be. . . . If you look at the Greeks, they were always dealing with supernatural and transcendent issues.

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Q: In this play, how old is Lewis supposed to be?McLean: I have (the setting of the play) in my mind as roughly 1950, before the first “Narnia” book was published. He was acknowledging his fame. Some people have said that, after Churchill, his was the most recognized voice in all of England at that point. His books were huge bestsellers. In this piece, he’s a well-known figure, and he is reflecting on what is so special about the Christian experience for him.

Q: Is most of what Lewis says in the play derived from or inspired by his actual words?

McLean: It’s takeoffs on (Lewis’ words). It’s not word-for-word, but it sounds very much like Lewis.

Q: Other actors have played Lewis, including Anthony Hopkins in the film about Lewis’ life, “Shadowlands.” Is there something about Lewis’ writings that cry out to not just be read but spoken?

McLean: It’s kind of the nature of history for certain very rare people who stand out from the crowd. Lewis is one of them.

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At a glance

“C.S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up and Further In” will be performed at 4 and 8 p.m. Feb. 3 in the Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St. A post-show discussion with writer-actor Max McLean will follow the show. Tickets start at $59. For more information, visit www.capa.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Words of writer C.S. Lewis to be highlighted in theatrical presentation